Succesful judgment for client and the environment in Kawartha Lakes (City) v. Grills, 2021 ONSC 2229.

Charles M.K. Loopstra, Q.C., and Paul E.F. Martin obtained a win for both their client and the environment in Kawartha Lakes (City) v. Grills, 2021 ONSC 2229, a Judgment rendered by the Justice Woodley on March 26, 2021.

Evidence at the hearing established that the Respondents persisted in their unlawful commercial fill operations notwithstanding an interim injunction issued on July 8, 2020 that had imposed an interim injunction restraining these uses. An environmental report cited during the hearing estimated that over 191,031 cubic metres of environmentally contaminated fill, equivalent to approximately 19,000 dual-axle dump truck loads, was illegally dumped on the land, which is directly adjacent to the environmentally sensitive Lake Dalrymple.

The Respondents were brought to justice through this latest Judgment. A permanent injunction, together with a site closure order, were issued along with costs on a substantial indemnity basis at the full rate requested by counsel at Loopstra Nixon. A further mandatory order was issued requiring the Respondents to remove the fill, remediate the land and to commission necessary environmental assessments, all at the Respondents’ sole cost. One of the Respondents was additionally found in contempt of the earlier interlocutory injunction.